Dominick Carisi, Jr.

Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Law & Order character
Peter Scanavino as Dominick "Sonny" Carisi
First appearance	"Girls Disappeared"
Portrayed by	Peter Scanavino
Time on show	2014–present
Seasons	16, 17, 18
Credited appearances	52 episodes (SVU) 1 episode (CPD) 53 episodes (total)
Information
Title	NYPD Junior Detective
Family	Bella Carisi (sister) Gina Carisi (sister) Theresa Carisi (sister) Jesse Rollins (goddaughter)
Partner	Nick Amaro

Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr. is a fictional character on the NBC police procedural drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Peter Scanavino. Carisi is a detective with the Manhattan SVU at the 16th Precinct of the New York Police Department. Carisi is Roman Catholic, and admits that when he was younger, he wanted to be a priest; two of his cousins are in the priesthood. His badge number is 0188.

Carisi is an inexperienced detective who transfers to the Manhattan Special Victims Unit as Detective Nick Amaro's (Danny Pino) temporary replacement when Amaro is reassigned to Queens. He began his law enforcement career as a patrol officer on Staten Island; after making detective, he spent two months with the Staten Island SVU, Brooklyn SVU for almost a month and Queens SVU for a week before transferring to Manhattan SVU.

Carisi gets off to a rough start with his new colleagues in the sixteenth season premiere episode "Girls Disappeared", coming off as blunt and insensitive during his initial meeting with Sergeant Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Detective Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish). He is a nonetheless a talented detective with a knack for interrogations, getting suspects to talk by playing the "good cop".

Unlike his older, more seasoned colleagues, he has difficulty keeping his emotions in check when confronted by the horrific crimes he sees. He is particularly upset by a case in which a prominent dentist rapes his own niece; while taking the dentist's fingerprints, Carisi loses his temper and nearly breaks the man's hand.

In the fifth episode, it is revealed that Carisi has permanently joined the Manhattan SVU team. In the same episode, Carisi helps turn one suspect against another during the investigation of a porn star's rape, earning him praise from Benson. Throughout season 16, he mentions that he is going to night classes at Fordham University's law school. A running joke has Carisi annoying Assistant District Attorney Rafael Barba with unsolicited advice on how to prosecute cases. Barba eventually allows Carisi to shadow him for a trial, with Carisi helping Barba spot a key inconsistency in a witness testimony. Some months later, Carisi reveals that he has recently taken the bar exam and thanks Barba for the earlier opportunity. The season 17 episode "Intersecting Lives" reveals that Carisi has passed the exam; however, in the season finale "Heartfelt Passages," he decides to postpone his plans to become an ADA for the time being.